As we the people of this great nation of Estados Unidos have toiled and scuffled with the politics of dancing for so many years, and endured the hopeless expectations that something or someone can show us the way to save our collective asses, I now propose with the help of my invisible friend, Babs, a proper solution.

The political parties of today are outmoded and archaic and I for one wish to propose a new party based on simple principles: The Far-Out Party

Now, membership in this party is free and expectations few. One does not have to be left, nor right and not centrist; but just Far-Out. Far-Out is beyond the boundaries of the selective few, a people’s movement of back to basics, because if you are Far-Out, then you’re not only on your way to being cool, but you’re already there, and really, would you rather be anywhere else? And who could ask for anymore then to be that Far-Out? What else could be better than to be completely Far-Out, because not only is that totally where it’s at if you’re really looking for it, but Far-Out is as Far-Out as one can get!

No need to be alienated by those Looney Lefties anymore, because you are just sooo Far-Out they can’t get to you. No more Right Ring-a-Round the Collar Ridiculousness with those who watch Frost/Nixon over and over because they actually think he was totally innocent and an outstanding and great President. …And those nasty clinging Clintonian Centrists? Consider them carbuncles of constitutional constipation because you are now just Far-Out, in a great space with your own groove on and when you really get that Far-Out, can anyone really hurt you? I’m mean; if you’re Far-Off you could fall off the end of the earth or even worse – be ex-communicated if you didn’t think you could fall off the side at the end of the ocean at least at one time. Those were the Dark ‘Far-Off’ Days of Yore, when Monks toiled to preserve remnants and wall-to-wall scrolls of the ancient past, and did so with great fervor and poetic license.

If you’re Far-In then you don’t have the room for a view, so you can’t order anything expressly but a Starbucks latte.

With the new Far-Out party, you don’t even have to bring the Iced tea to Boston Harbor; you don’t have to whistle Dixie or Trixie; Fort Henry, Sumter, or Dodge-Dix for that matter. You’re a Far-Out member for life, after all – you can’t get back to where you started when you’re really that Far-Out, and you certainly don’t need to get any higher in food chain of life, you’re already Out There – Far-Out There.

And now the two rules of the Far-Out Party:
Do unto me as you would to yourself (please!).
Don’t squeeze the Charmin.

Other than that, it’s all totally Far-Out from here on in. No frontier riding, pioneer arrow-laden, pissant urine-smelling ground crawlers with golden spurs can tell you what to do, where to do it, who to do it with, or why you’re doing it, because you are very much in the here and now….You are indeed now Far-Out …and have left the building. Thank you…thank you very much and I’ll be signing autographs in the lobby for twenty bucks a pop (and that’s Far-Out).

Original idea from Phil Proctor and the Firesign Theater’s 1969 album “How Can You Be Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere At All.”

I did some research and re-read the following from over 35 years ago, as I remembered being told at that time, I would be considered a subversive for doing so, and that just egged me on to want to read it more so. It’s another prediction by not only the following author, but the boys of Firesign Theater as well. Their 1969 title aptly describes the placement of our government between Socialism/Communism and Capitalism/Democracy (How can you be in two places at once? Well we are.)

Here it is……

WRITTEN 160 YEARS AGO IN 1848

LOOKS LIKE IT HAS ALL COME TO PASS………………………NOT SO ABSURD NOW READING THIS FORBIDDEN BOOK EXCERPT (my bolding of phrases):

………We see then: the means of production and of exchange, on whose foundation the bourgeoisie built itself up, were generated in feudal society. At a certain stage in the development of these means of production and of exchange, the conditions under which feudal society produced and exchanged, the feudal organization of agriculture and manufacturing industry, in one word, the feudal relations of property became no longer compatible with the already developed productive forces; they became so many fetters. They had to be burst asunder; they were burst asunder.

Into their place stepped free competition, accompanied by a social and political constitution adapted in it, and the economic and political sway of the bourgeois class.

A similar movement is going on before our own eyes. Modern bourgeois society, with its relations of production, of exchange and of property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production and of exchange, is like the sorcerer who is no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells. For many a decade past, the history of industry and commerce is but the history of the revolt of modern productive forces against modern conditions of production, against the property relations that are the conditions for the existence of the bourgeois and of its rule. It is enough to mention the commercial crises that, by their periodical return, put the existence of the entire bourgeois society on its trial, each time more threateningly. In these crises, a great part not only of the existing products, but also of the previously created productive forces, are periodically destroyed. In these crises, there breaks out an epidemic that, in all earlier epochs, would have seemed an absurdity — the epidemic of over-production. Society suddenly finds itself put back into a state of momentary barbarism; it appears as if a famine, a universal war of devastation, had cut off the supply of every means of subsistence; industry and commerce seem to be destroyed. And why? Because there is too much civilization, too much means of subsistence, too much industry, too much commerce. The productive forces at the disposal of society no longer tend to further the development of the conditions of bourgeois property; on the contrary, they have become too powerful for these conditions, by which they are fettered, and so soon as they overcome these fetters, they bring disorder into the whole of bourgeois society, endanger the existence of bourgeois property. The conditions of bourgeois society are too narrow to comprise the wealth created by them. And how does the bourgeoisie get over these crises? On the one hand, by enforced destruction of a mass of productive forces; on the other, by the conquest of new markets, and by the more thorough exploitation of the old ones. That is to say, by paving the way for more extensive and more destructive crises, and by diminishing the means whereby crises are prevented.

The weapons with which the bourgeoisie felled feudalism to the ground are now turned against the bourgeoisie itself.

But not only has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; it has also called into existence the men who are to wield those weapons — the modern working class — the proletarians.

In proportion as the bourgeoisie, i.e., capital, is developed, in the same proportion is the proletariat, the modern working class, developed — a class of laborers, who live only so long as they find work, and who find work only so long as their labor increases capital. These laborers, who must sell themselves piecemeal, are a commodity, like every other article of commerce, and are consequently exposed to all the vicissitudes of competition, to all the fluctuations of the market.

Owing to the extensive use of machinery, and to the division of labor, the work of the proletarians has lost all individual character, and, consequently, all charm for the workman. He becomes an appendage of the machine, and it is only the most simple, most monotonous, and most easily acquired knack, that is required of him. Hence, the cost of production of a workman is restricted, almost entirely, to the means of subsistence that he requires for maintenance, and for the propagation of his race. But the price of a commodity, and therefore also of labor, is equal to its cost of production. In proportion, therefore, as the repulsiveness of the work increases, the wage decreases. What is more, in proportion as the use of machinery and division of labor increases, in the same proportion the burden of toil also increases, whether by prolongation of the working hours, by the increase of the work exacted in a given time, or by increased speed of machinery, etc…………………

…………………The less the skill and exertion of strength implied in manual labor, in other words, the more modern industry becomes developed, the more is the labor of men superseded by that of women. Differences of age and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for the working class. All are instruments of labor, more or less expensive to use, according to their age and sex.

No sooner is the exploitation of the laborer by the manufacturer, so far at an end, that he receives his wages in cash, than he is set upon by the other portion of the bourgeoisie, the landlord, the shopkeeper, the pawnbroker, etc.

The lower strata of the middle class — the small tradespeople, shopkeepers, and retired tradesmen generally, the handicraftsmen and peasants — all these sink gradually into the proletariat, partly because their diminutive capital does not suffice for the scale on which Modern Industry is carried on, and is swamped in the competition with the large capitalists, partly because their specialized skill is rendered worthless by new methods of production. Thus, the proletariat is recruited from all classes of the population.

HIS PREDICTIONS ARE SPOT ON AND WE ARE RIGHT NOW WHERE HE DESCRIBES PURE CAPITALISM TO BE AT IT’S ULTIMATE PROCESS, SO WE NOW WE VENTURE INTO GOVERNMENT OWNING THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION (COMMUNISM) AND BUSINESS SOCIALISM

YOU, THE READER, WILL DECIDE WHAT WILL BE THE OUTCOME. I AM ONLY THE CHIRPING CANARY IN THE COAL MINE. THE FUTURE’S UNCERTAIN AND ALWAYS WILL BE.

Let me begin by saying that this will not go over well with most people but it’s not like I’m going to stop writing this article. Be forewarned and leave the premises now if you don’t want to get your blood pressure up.

Canada and Mexico are governed by Socialism in principle and in fact.We share huge natural borders with them and there has never been a declared war with either.We, the United States (USA) have something in common with the former United Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR).We are – as they were – a union of individual states that came together as a united republic.Canada and Mexico have much more in common with the old USSR than we do in the Socialistic governing, but yet we bear no ill will or chastise and berate them for it as we did, and do still to the original land of Mother Russia.What does this mean?Well, to begin with we have demonized the word socialism as evil and Un-American, yet we collect Social Security, receive social Medicare, have social services, and churches practice socialism every time they feed or clothe the homeless. Now we practice businesssocialism in buying toxic mortgage-backed bonds from banks. I’m pretty much sick of people screaming about free markets and unfettered capitalism as the cure for all ill, as it pretty much brought us to the bankruptcy of today.

Now, I’m not going to go where you think I am with this article.The ideology of right and left has so polarized this nation that we are at a point where less than 8 to 10 percent of the citizens decide who is President, and there never is a clear mandate.There will never be a rectification of these extreme views and I am sick to death of hearing the Fox News vs CNN; O’Reilly vs CBS; right vs left; good vs evil; McCain vs Obama; black vs white; Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice. You name it, I’m sick of hearing about this divisiveness and vociferous vocalizing from friends, family, and media.Here’s what I propose we eventually do.

We do what the USSR did but in a more palatable way.Let’s divide the states by 2 or some equitable arrangement and those who would want liberal government and would move to those states to achieve their ends and those who would want a right-wing government have the same option.Let’s go back to some sort of Pre-Civil war borders (A Mason-Dixon line of politics) but include the newer states to even the two republics and create a sandwich of sanity and reality between two Socialist countries, Canada and Mexico.Separate Presidents, Congresses, and laws would be created along with a new capital, but we would share Military, Social Security, Medicare and other Federal servicesfor ten years after which we can hopefully completely separate and leave each other to our collective political wants and desires.

Now the right can rant and the liberal can liberate and all of you can shut the hell up and we get on with enjoying our short lives.

Damn, I’m sorry for having to write this but enough is enough and we are no longer a United States are we?Let’s break up and find ourselves where we want to be instead of destroying ourselves from the inside out.

I’m ready for being happy and living a great life without all this crap, are you? I say let those who would be right, be right and those who would be left, be left-figuratively, literally, and locationally.

NOTE: I was originally going to sequel last week’s political blog with a solution.This week’s financial meltdown has put that on hold.

This week an icon of rock music died of cancer.Richard Wright the keyboardist, singer and songwriter from the sixties group Pink Floyd, a musical group that created the incredible album “Dark Side of the Moon” that stood at #1 for over 15 years on the pop charts; an album that probably ranks as one the all-time works of that era that still today stays as relevant and politically strong as when it was released in 1974.

I bring this up not as a eulogy, but as an introduction to the nation’s and world’s financial near-collapse and the things we take for granted that someday we lose without the ability to “fix” or avoid.

The illusion of control is control for most and they are secure with it.We look to our governments to become mommy and daddy, to make the big bad boogie men go away.We do not have a clue as to how fragile economies are, much like our lives on this planet.We hand over control and trust politicians to guide us through life, even though politicians are the most untrustable creatures on the face of the earth.The divisiveness of modern politics is so emotional and cruel that their campaigns focus on fear to drive you-the cattle-to herd to where they want you to go.A cattle prod of fear and emotion is the best weapon ever devised as logic always takes a back seat to that ignorance and wrong-headed decisions made under the influence of fear.

We have allowed this “republic” to become far beyond the “military-industrial complex” of the Eisenhower age.We are now a quasi-Fascist/industry-socialist/forcibly religious prisoners of our own fear.The meltdown of the financial systems stems from the repeal of the Glass-Steagal Act with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the loosening and eliminating of regulation at a time when computer trading and incredible computer speed allowed derivatives and exotic financial instruments to seek and plunder pennies on dollars for millions per day.

It gets worse. The current fiasco is not just Freddie and Fannie; it is the massive amount of CDO’s or mortgage-backed securities that were a derivative invented by Goldman Saks whose CEO at the time was Hank Paulson. This is squarely what is causing the meltdown. It is the lack of being able to price these CDO’s that has caused the run on the investment banks that bought billions of dollars of them. It is the deregulation (again Greenspan) that allowed these financial instruments that were based on ‘home values never going down’ that is the root cause. Paul Volcker, the previous Fed Chairman warned of this deregulation at that time but no one listened. Those CDO’s are now illiquid and the ‘shorts’ have gone after those investment banks that hold these securities to make massive amounts of money while they bring these institutions down.I warned of this many months ago. This is not just about donkeys and elephants.

CDO’s should have never been allowed to be created.Remember Greenspan’s 1% interest rate meant investment banks needed more return on their money.Goldman’s CDO’s allowed the high returns that made them millions until the builders jacked up prices (my wife worked for one and they raised a house that cost 275,000 to 500,000 and then to 750,000 as the rates went lower) and then when FUBAR Greenspan made a speech to Congress (I heard it at with my own ears at the time) telling everyone to buy into a 3-Year ARM, then 6 months later began to raise rates, the obvious happened. People had bought too much house at too little interest. Speculative investors bought in to the ‘home values never going down’ myth and expected big dollars in flipping…….but I will tell you this much; I know of many families out in the street right now because they have lost jobs the same time as their mortgage rates doubled. It is a crisis, and it’s not about minorities, these are middle class heart of America people that are homeless, broke, or moving into apartments because they lost their house. You may not have sympathy for them, but for the grace of God there walks us all.

Mommy and Daddy are gone and we are left with who to blame.Look in the mirror.We let it happen, we allowed these greedy imaginative thieves to plunder us on the high seas of finance.Bailout?For who?For the banks, not you. That would be socialism.We are a nation of suffering a terminal emotional dysfunctional illusion.Rallying around a flag proclaiming to be the best at everything, to be God’s chosen country is the last gasp of holding on by our fingernails.This is far from over for the American Public.The ramifications will be long-lasting and damaging for ‘Main Street.’

There is hope, but we will probably be much too afraid to take the chances.If I could ‘short’ American attention span, I’d be a trillioniare…….Now you see how easy it can be done, if there was a market for it.

The sun will rise tomorrow, but the world will change with or without you. Control is an illusion we hold close …but as the storm hits…….

In my recollection, there has never been such a slew of misinformation (more than likely due to the ease of accessibility to misinform by the internet) in a Presidential election than this one.I’ve must have sent out over 150 Snopes.com corrections of the same 2 items in less than 2 months.Smearing is at an all time high, now.And why is that?We have a black candidate, we have a religious female on the other side and really the other two don’t matter.Does that make sense?Yes it does, if you look at what America really is and not what “it could be.”Republicans have dominated the political halls for the majority of the last 200 years in both Congress and the Chief Executive posts.I have heard hysterics from people with ethnicities of Russian, European, Irish, English, and that are now, whether rightfully or not as I don’t agree with it, classified as Caucasian, in regards to a black president. (I love one particular man who in anger claims he’s Ukrainian not Russian and on top of that he is the biggest bigot and emailer of bogus information, and gets personal and nasty when he’s painted in a corner.The irony is he and his family may end up in a Manzanar-like prison if we get into a war with Russia.) I am trying to keep this blog non-partisan for a reason, but for the subject that it explores, it is difficult as there is only one black candidate and those who hate him will accuse me of one-way opinion and those who are for him will accuse me of not backing him.I can’t win so I don’t care.Here’s the issue-Issues are not the issue-fear of Democrats, fear of the world ending, fear of a black uprising is all I hear.I heard the same crap with Kerry, Gore, Clinton, Johnson, Kennedy, and every Democratic nominee there ever was. I’m tired of it but it is to be expected when you understand the roots of the good old US of A.

The Mayflower Pilgrims were religious outcasts from England.They were considered overzealous and “too religious” for England’s Protestant rulers. Imagine that-too zealous! Predominantly white settlers followed and formed present day New England, New York and adjacent areas.

The Dutch traders made slavery a lucrative business for the English, Spanish, and French pioneer settlers particularly of the South by purchasing prisoners of warring African tribes and selling them free labor for the cotton and tobacco fields.(The beginning of outsourcing for Europe)We fought a revolutionary war with England first helped by the French, and then 100 years later, the more devastating Civil War (or War Between the States) that to this day brands an imprint of discrimination that remains to this day in our Southern states, but not exclusively.That war’s main impetus was to end slavery and merge the states into a Union.Those roots run deep and as one knows, a paper being signed isn’t going to eradicate hate and disdain.

We are a country with a heritage of misfits, religious fanatics, psychotics, murderers, and our real founding of this country is based on mass genocide of the Native American.So what else would one expect with a heritage like that?Make no mistake; the majority of the emotion of this election is a black man becoming a leader of one of the most racist countries in the world.Now, there are those who say, “No I’m a Republican, I vote for conservative Republicans.”So then, why are you voting for a “Maverick” that wants to change the last eight years of conservatism at its finest?If the Republican candidate was black, do you really think they would win?I don’t.I think it would be a Democratic landslide if the ticket was lily white.

Obama anticipated this as he is a very smart human being, and registered over 11 million new voters, mostly young and unprejudiced.It may or may not be enough.Regardless, the “Great Divide” in this country is no longer the Rocky Mountains; it is the philosophical and racial differences that show the Civil War was never over.It goes on in the minds of those who have, and those who have not, and those who have forgotten where they’ve come from and point fingers and talk about “free markets” and induce fear veiled by attacks on those “Democrats” but really mean, “The Sheriff is a Nig…” to quote the movie “Blazing Saddles.”I’m tired of the shit flinging.Stick to the issues and leave the fantasy for MILF’s for Desperate Housewives.VP’s do practically nothing, so it’s supposed to be McCain vs Obama, the top of the ticket and if you have to precede everything you say with “I’ve always been honest” or “I am true patriot” then you’re lying according to the latest research on human nature so let’s get on with it and discuss issues.

There are some people that think that writing is easy and effortless until they attempt to link thoughts, ideas, language, prose, and a pulse that is identifiable as “rhythm.” All of these things make up the “voice” of the writing as the words are merely abstracts that can mean different things if the writer is not precise in all aspects of the above. Even when those parameters are followed, creativity is required to make it interesting enough to read, but not too complex to be understood. It all sounds so easy doesn’t it? Staring at a blank piece of paper and allowing the mind to congeal and spill forth contiguous and conjunctive thoughts that add up to some conclusion and/or moral of the story, if that is the writer’s intent and end result. I have some difficulties with a few people, and some young people in general that think when I present problems I am being negative and they don’t understand or comprehend what I am saying. One young site called Bright Future that I was posting my blogs on -without notice other than a matter-of-fact letter- pulled off over 8 blogs that you can read right here for yourself for supposed “negative attacks and general negative tone.” The one they left “They Should Have Built It On the F…… Sun” was the most negative one I wrote, calling the last three generations at fault for allowing government to abandon alternative energy sources-that one they left…..go figure…..I cancelled that one myself because that was the best example of a negative tone of any I could see. Here’s the list of censored blogs, if you can find those negative attacks, let me know:

The Road Taken (The Balance of Life Through Centuries)
A Life or Death Issue (Stem Cell Research book)
Mirror, Mirror, The Spirit is Nearer (The Science of Spirituality)
The Future Use of Digitization-Part I
The Future Use of Digitization-Part II Copyright and Issues
The Future Use of Digitization-Part III, Immortality
What is Really Hip? (Ecology)

“Please, Pay it Forward” was about doing things for people to help those in need. “What is Really Hip” was about the hippie generation initiating the groundswell of the environmental movement that I was a part of. What was I, negatively attacking myself? Absurd, and I had to really think this out as to how anyone could be that off-base.

Another wanted a more “rounded” approach, that translates to “make it pretty for the reader.” I got pretty depressed about for a day until someone whose opinion I greatly value said some very nice things and encouraged me to write for me and the hell with who wants what. This is what I wrote to her:

I have become very discouraged and about to give up writing blogs completely, as all the efforts made seem to count up to nothing and I am so tired of fools that just don’t get it, much less those who just don’t care. ……. I was never looking for fame or fortune, just a small group of people that enjoyed what I’ve written to make it worthwhile. I have tried to connect with a younger audience, but I have found that they think the world is just going to be a beautiful place with no pitfalls or reason to think about anything negative happening. They haven’t experienced half their ass being chewed off as “life experience” yet, so without me writing it up as a “pretty” piece with truth and justice for all, including dessert-I get cast as writing negatively. When I try to explain the Ying and Yang are what life is, that all decisions one makes can be cast either good or bad and can also be both “good” or “bad” at the same time if one can even classify what is good or bad- it just is, period. Inevitably any decision anyone makes will have it’s drawbacks and successes, and they just don’t get it.

And my friend commented: “I don’t think you’re negative. Like I said, I think you are brilliant and I respect you.” Of course, I could never take a compliment well, not that it didn’t make me feel better, soI wrote her back this short poem that came forth quickly and right from my heart:

Of what use is a song that isn’t heard
the sweet melody of a bird
The joy of painted scenes
where no one has ever been

Of course the artist’s art
comes from their inner heart
but no more grace does one know
when just one sees their show

for in the end, the artist…for all….it is indeed the ego.

Today is a new day, I feel better and who reads this, reads it; and who doesn’t-that is their loss. My perspective is that of what is and to deny the bad things of this world is pretending they don’t exist and the “Bright Future” website acts as if the world will all be wonderful with no suffering or struggling. Posing problems and solutions without including touchy- feely “happy” articles is not their forte. Without questioning from whence the problems came deprives any reader of what is really behind the problem to begin with and is not in my opinion negative but is seeking the truth. In situations where there are already obvious answers, posing questions is a moot point. Why bother? The detriment of denial is that the “solutions” become shallow and without deep reflection as to “why” the situation is what it is from the beginning to the problem’s present position. A problem is there because decisions were made and the past adds up to what is now. A solution requires the examination of the past to truthfully and definitively answer those questions without bias. Good or bad is irrelevant, action and reaction are.

It is the questions that are not answered or not easily answered that pose the complexity of reality and allow stimulation of the human mind. I am disappointed there are younger people whose intent is good but their focus is so narrow as to not allow the freedom of expression other than “happy” news with simple and/or obvious solutions. The real mature thought process of science and the arts doesn’t just solve problems, it theorizes and postulates while stimulating others to question as well. The Ying and Yang, the process of BOTH SIDES of life remain regardless of one’s personal wants and accompanying censorship to force their “un-negative” idea of what really is. If there is any problem to be solved, someone or something has to be causing that problem. To deny that, is to deny reality. To call history and events “negative” is childish. On top of that every deed done, every action taken has both good and bad effects relatively for the human race, -always has, always will.

While we look at the touchy-feely, the warm and fuzzy, there could be negative and/or evil standing right behind you and your touchy-feely, warm and fuzzy may be the damn cause of it. You refuse to want to see for the sake of wanting the world the way you want it, sterilized of “bad” things. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. This theorem just doesn’t apply in physics, but to all in the physical world. Ignore it at your peril.

I was recently asked to be a featured blogger by The Pakistani Spectator(“I hope you are fine and carrying on the great work you have been doing for the Internet surfers. I am Ghazala Khan from The Pakistani Spectator (TPS), We at TPS throw a candid look on everything happening in and for Pakistan in the world. We are trying to contribute our humble share in the webosphere. Our aim is to foster peace, progress and harmony with passion. We at TPS are carrying out a new series of interviews with the notable passionate bloggers, writers, and webmasters. In that regard, we would like to interview you, if you
don’t mind.”) -and the following is a post of that interview. The person behind this blog on the other side of the world is:

Ghazala Khan-She has been roaming the corridors of Blogistan for the last two years, and herself started blogging from March, 2007 because she wanted to let the world know her passionate views about the judiciary who started struggling to gain freedom. The movement of lawyers for judiciary carried on and so is the blogging streak of her. You can reach her at ghazala.khi@gmail.com.

Interview with Blogger Nick Oliva

Nick Oliva (O-lee-va) has been a musician, composer, photographer, an audio engineer, an Entertainment Director and Technical Director for over twenty-five years and is a successful self-made money manager. He lives in the mountains outside of Las Vegas.

Would you please tell us something about you and your site?

The site is about my book “Only Moments” that was published recently. On the site you can look at my autobiography, the backstory to the book, and the link to my ongoing blog also called “Only Moments.” www.onlymomentsbook.com and the blog www.onlymoments.wordpress.com

Do you feel that you continue to grow in your writing the longer you write? Why is that important to you?

The evolution of any being is continuing to do things either better or differently than in the past and as the saying goes “practice makes (near)perfect”..perfection is rare. Self-satisfaction is a wonderful thing.

I’m wondering what some of your memorable experiences are with blogging?

I have met many wonderful people all over the world that think and don’t just accept the quantified norm of a outlook that “the powers that are” impose to protect their collective asses.

What do you do in order to keep up your communication with other bloggers?

I have personal letters that I send to keep in touch along with the blogs.

What do you think is the most exciting or most innovative use of technology in politics right now?

YouTube without a doubt is very innovative, but it is also a lazy way to skip the art of writing and reading. I’m afraid that the instant gratification of today’s youth will allow them to grow up illiterate as part of a new online “boob tube” generation.

Do you think that these new technologies are effective in making people more responsive?

They are timely, they are effective, they are fast, but beware they may be bullshit planted for whatever motivations a commercial company or political body wants you to believe. Look at all the internet lies about Barack Obama that people truly believe because they read it on the internet. There is much disinformation daily and it is purposely put out there to slander people without having to be tracked and found out. Evil makes it way to every form of communication and technology cannot take the place of the human heart. That’s one of the themes of my book “Only Moments.”

What do you think sets Your site apart from others?

Most bloggers have not written a book that ties directly into the gestalt of the blog and vice versa. I have no commercial ads or google adsense boxes and keep the blog commercial-free so I do not have to answer to anyone, or be beholden to a sponsor.

If you could choose one characteristic you have that brought you success in life, what would it be?

Passion, passion, passion

What was the happiest and gloomiest moment of your life?

When my book was published and the gloomiest when my mother died.

If you could pick a travel destination, anywhere in the world, with no worries about how it’s paid for – what would your top 3 choices be?

Greece, Nepal, and The Temples of Ankgor Wat in Cambodia

What is your favorite book and why?

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
It is a timeless story of humankind searching for the answer why and the generational suffering of the coming of age between a father and son.

What’s the first thing you notice about a person (whether you know them or not)?

Their aura of being. The eyes are the windows to the soul.

Is there anyone from your past that once told you you couldn’t write?

No, but I never thought this would be what I would be doing when I was very young. I’m 54 and still wondering what I will be doing when I grow up.

How bloggers can benefit from blogs financially?

I’m not the person to answer that one.

Is it true that who has a successful blog has an awful lot of time on their hands?

No, the successful blog or blogger has passion and the writing skills to create universes that implant the ideas that they wish to trigger emotional responses in other human beings whether to ponder, motivate, emote sympathy, excitement, or sadness.

What role can bloggers of the world play to make this world more friendlier and less hostile?

One can only affect those with whom they have touched, and that is why writing is so important. The Guttenberg press changed the world and brought enlightenment and the Romantic Age into being. Unfortunately we may be living in the dark ages if our youth does not carry on and take the baton to keep this important human tool alive despite technology that makes video so accessible.

What is your perception about Pakistan and its people?

People in general are not like the government that they are subject to follow. I see the youth of the world coming together electronically to overcome the tyranny of censorship and that’s the first step to freedom, as there are degrees to freedom, it does come slowly as those in power die out. The outlander tribes must be educated, and not supplied with weapons to stop the age-old fighting amongst themselves.

What is the most striking difference between a developed country and a developing country?

Education, awareness of the diversity of people, the realization of not just different ethnic but moral and ethical standards as well, and the acceptance and appreciation of those that provide not just diversity but controversy.

What is the future of blogging?

I don’t have a clue, but I’ll still keep doing it.

You have also got a blogging life, how has it directly affected both your personal and professional life?

It keeps me sharp and on point in my verbal skills.

What are your future plans?

I will be writing another book on my near death experience along with stories of celebrities that I have dealt with in my life as an Entertainment professional

Any Message you want to give to the readers of The Pakistani Spectator?
Keep positive and true to yourself. Follow your bliss and if you are young and looking for direction, any road will take you there, so just do something instead of looking for the perfect path. All roads lead to self-enlightenment if you let them.

We live in America, fostered by the ideals of fairplay, honesty, and all things good, wholesome, apple-pied with a dollop of fresh white cream on the top. At least that’s the spin put on our country by politicians looking for your votes so they can stuff their pockets full of fancy little deals that enrich their families at the expense of yours. Let’s start with one subject, American Business-the Small Businessman.

When one thinks of a family business one usually envisions a mother and father slaving away trying to make ends meet with their children at their side learning the business as they grow, hopefully to take it over and prosper. The reality is that most “small businesses” are not really that small (exempting the restaurant business) and are capitalized by very wealthy people. Most do not provide benefits to their employees, many violate state and federal labor laws every day. How do I know this? Let’s just say I have “friends” as the commercial for tax preparation drones about, as if your “friends” have an illegal inside track to save you money underreporting your income-just like the big boys do-nudge nudge, know what I mean?

Take a look at a local harbor to see who owns those lovely yachts. There written off as an entertainment expense by “small” businesses. The automobile write-off was capped a few years back so anything over $50,000 can’t be taken as an expense for a car, but a million dollar Prevost luxury motorhome can still be amortized over 5 years in the companies’ name for entertaining. These are but a few of the ways the tax structure has brought this country down to its knees for the little guy. There are many more but let me move on to tackle the other side of this drama and get to my point without listing 50 ways to screw your country.

It is these same “small” businesses that force employees to work overtime without compensation, by use of fear or pressure tactics and enact pay periods that allow them to be paid only 48 weeks out of 52 by illegally setting the first and fifteenth of each month as paydays instead of floating the pay period to coincide with the real calendar where 4.2 weeks are equivalent to a month not 28 days. Larger corporations know that can’t get away with that, so they stay on the side of the law. The small-minded business owner and larger corporations dohowever browbeat and squeeze every nickel of labor they can and stand behind a corporate structure so that their front line employees have to deal with an underserviced, unsatisfied customer or client that is not being treated fairly because the money being raked in by the corporate owner is never enough, so he buys the cheapest parts, doesn’t pay contractors, lets his bills pile up until he is threatened with litigation, doesn’t trust anyone because he or she themselves are not trustworthy, and then hides behind any legal interpretation they can screw their employees and their customers. (I’m sure there are good people and great companies to work for here in America, but they are far and few between) Now that sounds harsh doesn’t it? Now multiply the intensity of that with a large corporation.

Guess what? It’s normal, and if it is normal here, imagine what it is like in China and India. We buy billions of dollars of all this crap-clothing so shoddy that colors streak completely after being washed once, mechanical things that fall apart after one use, and all of the stuff is probably is loaded with lead if not anything more dangerous (wait until they start making medicines)-and all while they are polluting the shit out of their land and air-just like we did from 1870-1976. Not that we don’t still do it, but it has been addressed to a large extent by those dreadful liberal environmentalists who do at times go way too far, but at this point without them we would be the world’s biggest polluter….ahh….wait, I think we still are!

My point is that we talk the talk but can’t walk the walk and if we, American people had done the right thing in the 70’s and demanded to become self-sufficient, taken solar and alternative energy production seriously before Reagan came in and made everybody feel good about “our national right to excess in all things,” then these international bankers and our Federal Reserve couldn’t have hijacked the economy and promoted productivity, which is essentially more work done by less people- and encouraged national corporations to expand overseas with our manufacturing jobs for huge profits. They were there to help them by funding the banks that have loaned them the money for that expansion. Then the investment banks started gaming the system with arbitrage and fast computers while the SEC watched and let it happen. Then the era of securitized mortgages, the fact that the uptick rule was banished for people who sold stock short, and then commodities became an asset allocation for as little as 5% margin; no delivery requirements, and wound into Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) like a stock-and not just a hedge for businesses, and bingo….the bubble breaks. Who is to blame? We let it happen; we’re going to pay for it. It has yet to really surface just how much of a loss we will sustain in determining our own future and that of our children. We are just beginning to see the effects of our capital being spread too thin around the world while our sworn enemies laugh at us, counting the billions we have to send them like a junkie in a dark alley. Global is good? For who? The international banks that’s who and don’t let anyone fool you, the big money is in a fixed game and the question is not who will profit and who will suffer, it is when.

The expansion of globalization and reallocation of capital reminds me of grading on a curve or “no child left behind” that are attempts at socialistic concepts by the current administration to promote those countries that rank near the bottom to rise up further at the expense of those who are economically sound by using the tried and true method of cheap labor to make millionaires from racketeers with the power and money in these former “third world” areas. This Non-Darwinian methodology cannot succeed without someone getting the short end of the stick.

Fairplay, honesty, and all things good….Where have you gone “Common Principles” the nation turns it’s lonely eyes to you?

The World Trade Towers were the focus of an attack in 1993 by Muslim “extremists.”I was working in Puerto Rico at the time and the shock of that attempt was hard to describe, but the reasoning was clear.It was an attempt to bring down financial markets in the Western world by misguided so-called religious zealots that wouldn’t know the basis of any religion if they swallowed it with a cup of oil.It was a mostly failed attempt, one that we as a country did not take as a warning and prepare for further attempts.Obviously the second attempt was successful beyond their wildest dreams in terms of destruction and media attention, but what it did not do was destroy either the world’s or our economy. No, the destruction of our dollar, our trade deficit, our home values, our industrial production, and our consumer confidence to spend has been destroyed by the purveyors of disaster-investment banks and the policies of the Federal Reserve and Federal Government.They have wrought far more damage to this country than the heart-wrenching destruction and loss of life in the World Trade Towers disaster and I say this will the utmost respect and sympathy to all those who were affected by that horrible day.The American government, and by default the American people have allowed themselves to be put at risk internally by the tacit approval of corporate manipulation to strangle the economy and the future of our children and their children.Our Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson was the head of Goldman Sachs who invented the mortgage-backed sub-prime bonds but don’t blame him.Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve who engineered this recession, now says he stands behind all he did, don’t blame him.We have spent over a trillion dollars on a war in a country that has untold trillions of oil reserves that could easily pay us back or finance their own reconstruction, but don’t blame our President.Congress and the President have sat on their asses for eight years watching the price of oil skyrocket, but have yet to formulate a solid energy-independence plan for the future, but don’t blame them.The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has over 70 billon dollars of oil and our government (we) are still buying it at these high prices adding to the demand and further driving up prices, but don’t open that tap to control the speculators that use hedge funds to drive up the price of futures contracts, don’t blame them.

So then, who do we blame?There is only one entity left to blame.You-you and I are to blame for allowing these morons to govern us without the threat of losing their jobs.We have become fat and secure and until we reach the subsistence level and have no choice but to rail against the “empire” we will remain shorn sheep, allowing the abuse of those with whom we’ve entrusted power to keep abusing us.

We give those who would kill us the financial ability to do so by creating their wealth for them and of course we don’t think some of that money will come back to destroy our way of life.Our leaders take the money back that we the American public spend for oil in the form of “contributions” to ensure the money keeps flowing right on to them.Just ask Colin Powell how he got a brand new Jaguar days after he resigned from office.Go ahead and ask him or google Colin Powell, Jaguar –and see for yourself.

“Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience [has] shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce [the people] under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.”